


Never tell me the odds

by kamelea



Series: HalLOVEen tales [1]
Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, B99 Fall 2019 Fic Exchange, F/M, Fluff, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Meet-Cute, but not really lol, kinda college AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-05 19:08:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21213602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kamelea/pseuds/kamelea
Summary: Amy and Jake's meet-cute at a Halloween party. Oh, and Amy is a Wookie.





	Never tell me the odds

**Author's Note:**

  * For [drowninginmyworries](https://archiveofourown.org/users/drowninginmyworries/gifts).

> Hello @drowninginmyworries! Here’s an early Halloween gift for you for the @b99fandomevents Fall Fic challenge! :D I got super inspired by your prompts and it was hard to choose for which one to write but I hope you're happy with the outcome <3
> 
> Special thanks to @AmyDancepantsPeralta for all your precious help with this one! You're a true angel <3 And thank you @Kufikiria for your moral support and patience with my rants about this fic :)
> 
> (The title is an Han Solo quote from _Star Wars_)

How has she once again fallen a victim to Gina’s trick?

The bet was supposed to be an easy win for Santiago, but somehow Gina managed to outwit her (or rather, as Amy assumed, cheat). And the defeat was bitter. The defeat was Gina choosing a costume for Santiago for the Halloween party held at Linetti’s. Was the result different, Linetti would be forced to go to any nerdy event of Amy’s choice and the latter just briefly wonders if such outcome would make Gina suffer equally. Because Amy’s misery right now is enormous. 

The misery being her wearing a _Chewbacca_ costume, of all possible choices Gina could’ve made. 

The costume is thick, doesn’t let any air in _or_ out and the smell inside the upper part is overwhelming in the worst sense. But now it’s too late to start looking for a new one, Amy thinks, standing in front of the door to Gina’s apartment and she knows Linetti won’t let her in, her wearing only yoga pants and a t-shirt under her costume. So she follows Rosa inside, her shoulders slumped. Not that anyone would notice in the bush of fake Wookie fur. 

There are cheap Halloween decorations all around Gina’s apartment - plastic pumpkins put on every free surface, tacky spiders and bats hanging from door frames and lamps. The cups have skeletons imprinted on them and a big bowl is standing in the middle of the kitchen, filled with a suspiciously looking red jello, which, as Amy assumes, is supposed to look like blood. It’s not sophisticated (what is expected from a students’ party) but Amy admires Linetti’s dedication to decor. In the corner, far back in the living room, stands an occasionally screaming witch, scaring off from time to time those who come closer to the drinks table. 

And Amy would love to get drunk as fast as possible but it is not really an option in that suit - it’s hard to walk in it being sober, she can only imagine how worse it would get after alcohol circulating in her system. So she stands in front of the makeshift bar, full of the cheapest beer and wine, with a few bottles of tequila and vodka in the back of it, and contemplates the reasons behind her desperate need to show up here tonight. Why did she oblige to Gina’s stupid terms just for the sake of one party? She doesn’t even like Halloween that much...

Oh, right. Because her private life is a disaster. 

She’s nearing the end of college, satisfied with her results - it’s a good feeling to have the highest grades, a scholarship and University authorities’ recognition. Yet at what cost? While going through her university experience, she has kinda forgotten about one important life’s detail - people. And Amy’s been in a weird place recently, getting to know new people becoming harder and harder with age. Her being stuck in a small crowd of friends, people she loved with all of her heart, but even they’ve kept telling her to take some air. A breath of clear air that comes with a new friendship. 

However, Amy has always been a bit weird with people, add to it her geekiness and OCD, it really doesn’t create the best combination for being popular. Even if she has never craved for popularity, it also doesn’t help in creating deep bonds with people she keeps close to herself. One of those people being Rosa Diaz, her classmate from high school, with whom she managed to form some kind of meaningful relationship. It was a hard task - Diaz being a human form of a brick wall, and Amy having her own struggles with opening to people - but in the end Amy was over the moon when their friendship developed, reaching a level where the other Latina agreed to become roommates as the time for college came.

And it’s not that she doesn’t like to be around people, no. It’s just that if she was to describe the feeling that overcomes her after spending too much time with an acquaintance she would use the noun _discomfort_. Because there is always a wall, a wall of politeness and courtesy, that blocks Amy from being her true self around most people. Those are rules of dealing with people and Amy loves to follow rules.

Surprisingly, a weird easiness Amy finds also in Linetti’s company, Rosa’s girlfriend of few months. Even though Gina never noticed Amy in high school (and still doesn’t believe she and Santiago actually attended some classes together, even when she showed her some pictures on the school’s website, always chortling right in her face when Amy brings it up) and only hangs out with her because of one Netflix account Rosa shares with Amy, which forces them to often watch TV together.

And when Gina invited Amy to her Halloween party (after Rosa elbowed her hard in the ribs) Amy thought it might be a good opportunity to step out of her comfort zone. Of course Linetti had to do it her way, coming up with the whole bet idea and again, Amy agreed because if there is one thing she loves more than following rules it’s _competition_. And she calculated her chances well - doing some calculus of probability is actually one of her hobbies, but somehow Gina, being the sneaky girl that she is, fooled her anyway. 

It is a spooky season indeed, Amy thinks, her demons chasing her on this last day of October. 

All of a sudden, Amy’s small pity party gets interrupted, as a pair of unknown arms encircles her from behind and an unexpected impact makes her wobble. But the arms are strong and they keep her in place.

“There you are, Chewie! I was worried the Stormtroopers finally got you!” Someone shouts loudly right into her ear and if it wasn’t for the mask, she would have lost her hearing for sure.

The arms let go of her, making it possible for her to turn to the source of the voice, which sounds somehow familiar, even in this noise of a crowded party. Through the small holes which are supposed to be Chewie’s eyes she sees a snippet of an ecru shirt and black vest. What she doesn’t see is a face, so she tilts her head in a weird angle to inspect it. And then a big smile shows, and sparkling brown eyes and a head of messy curls. 

Amy knows this face, she just has trouble to match it with a name.

“Come on, Chewie! Don’t you recognize your best friend?!” The smile only grows bigger (if that’s even possible) and for a reason unknown to Amy it makes her blush. God bless the mask.

“Is this supposed to be a Han Solo costume?” she asks, her tone maybe a bit too sharp given he’s been nothing but nice, with this beam of his and friendly attitude. There was no reason whatsoever for her to go into her defensive mode. Her blush deepens. 

“Oh, come on! It’s obvious I’m Han - I even have a gun, look!” The man, she still can’t remember the name of, reaches to his back pocket and takes out the tackiest plastic gun she’s ever seen. 

She actually chuckles at his attempt to roll the gun on his finger, even if it’s a failed one. “Yeah, so much better now, Han Solo.”

“It’s Jake actually.” He smiles and then it clicks.

“Right, Jake Peralta!” She points her finger at him in a weird satisfactory gesture, excited she managed to finally to remember and only then she realizes how awkward it must have looked. 

That’s why she should’ve stayed at home.

Jake’s brows furrow in a confused impression, though the smirk is still there, so she hurries with an explanation. “We went to high school together.”

They did go to the same school, true. And that’s it. They’ve never exchanged a word, him probably oblivious to her existence, but she knew him of course, because who didn’t really? The goofball, school’s clown, his jokes capable to charm even the strictest of teachers. He wasn’t maybe the most popular boy in school, but his personality was just so _loud_ it was catching Amy’s attention, besides she enjoyed watching him interacting with others. He made it look so easy. Just coming by to a random person to chat about nothing in particular and bonding. Never seemed so easy for her. Maybe if he would’ve come up to her, it would have been easy as well? But he never did, so those thoughts are pointless.

(Most of the time he would be wearing that trademark grin of his proudly, but there were times Amy saw him walking in contemplation through a secluded hallway, his gaze wistful and lips pursed and if someone was to actually talk to him, he would put on a smile Amy knew was fake.)

“That’s so cool! Gina invited so many random people, it’s gonna be so nice to see a familiar face. Well, if you decide to finally let go of that mask, Chewie.”

He’s going to be so disappointed seeing a face of yet another stranger.

But she grasps the mask and struggles for a second and only with a slight help from Jake she manages to get it off.

“You probably don’t re...” she rushes to explain but gets interrupted by an excited scream.

“Oh my God, Amy Santiago?! In a Chewbacca costume!” 

Jake giggles like crazy, and with his whole body, but Amy doesn’t feel offended by his reaction because the laugh doesn’t sound like a mean one, and it _is_ a hilarious sight of her in that costume. First and foremost though her mind can only focus on one thing now - he knows her name.

His laugh is contagious, so she lets herself to chuckle timidly, and is amazed how easy it is to just laugh with a person she has just met. 

“Wow, Amy Santiago, I didn’t take you for a person to wear a Chewbacca costume. I love it.” he says once their giggles die a bit and Amy wishes the mask was still in place to cover the redness of her cheeks.

“Not my choice really. But now that my sweat has mixed with all the sweat of people who wore this costume before me, I don’t even mind it anymore.”

The words leave her mouth and her hand twitches to slap herself for making it the most awkward small talk ever. According to good manners, this is not how you talk to person you barely know. Especially if that person has such mesmerizing eyes and cute smile. Bringing up sweat isn’t a sexy thing to say. Not that she wants to be received as sexy. 

(Even if she wanted, it’s hard to accomplish it wearing the most shapeless and fury costume ever. This is like the opposite of sexy.)

“Sounds sexy!” His right brow rises in a funny way as he chuckles but Amy has only half the mind to admire this adorable sight, because the other half is amazed - looks like small talks don’t have to feel weird and forced after all. He must’ve taken her shocked expression as a wrong sign though, because for the first time the smile disappears from his face as he starts to explain. “Just kidding! I’m so sorry, this was so inappropriate. I made it super weird, didn’t I?”

“Super weird is actually my comfort zone, so thank you for finally lowering your standards of social interactions to my level.” It’s actually so true, Amy realizes, and is surprised it was easier to admit it to Jake than to herself for such long time. He takes it though only as a pretty dark joke probably, the beam finding its designated place on Jake’s face again, giving Amy no choice than to reciprocate it.

“You know what would be the coolest thing ever?” Jake suddenly exclaims excitedly. “Us together taking part in the costume contest.” 

“What contest?...” 

“Gina is holding a competition for matching costumes, since she really wants people to praise her costume idea for her and Rosa.” 

“Who are they dressing up as? Rosa refused to tell me when I asked her about the blonde wig.”

“I think she’s supposed to be Portia and Gina’s dressing up as Ellen Degeneres.”

Yeah, Amy can see now why Rosa seemed so uncomfortable in her costume, probably preferring to wear a more gloomy outfit. But, there are worse things people do for love, and Amy is moved by Diaz’s gesture to make her girlfriend happy.

“So, wanna take part?” He prompts further cheerfully. “Being honest, I think it’s a destiny you and I both came wearing _Star Wars_ costumes. And they match in the best way possible!”

Amy doesn’t know what makes her agree eventually, after Jake - a man she doesn’t really know - gives her a countless number of arguments (none of which makes sense) about the _brilliance_ of his idea. She’s of course quick to correct him. 

“The form you’re looking for is “brilliantness”. “Brilliance” refers to something exceptionally effulgent.” 

He then mocks her know-it-all tone (giving it a weird British vibe), but in a way that makes her laugh, and she willingly indulges into a banter that goes on for a while. And somehow the result of it is her saying yes to that proposition. 

Despite the thick layer of the Chewie costume, she feels a spark going through her nerves when Jake grabs her hand to pull her towards Gina, person in charge.

* * *

Whenever talking to people, Amy would steal a glance at her watch, counting the time till it’ll be polite to end a conversation. Small talks are tiring and have no point really, and an ineffective activity always makes Amy suffocate a bit. That’s why she keeps track of time - not to become too overwhelmed with a conversation that causes her discomfort. She was anxious a bit, knowing that in that costume she’s wearing tonight, she won’t have access to her watch, and she considers taking her phone in and out endlessly throughout one conversation extremely rude. 

However, while talking to Jake she doesn’t need her watch nor her phone. She hasn’t even steal one glance at the clock on the wall, being too occupied with the stories Jake shares with her. And telling a few of her own.

It’s just so easy to hear about his struggles at the police academy and how harder it has become actually becoming a cop this summer. She finds out it’s simple to tell him she also dreams of a career in the NYPD, her biggest goal being the youngest female Captain in the history of the institution and it surprises her, because so far the only people who knew were her family and Rosa. It doesn’t pain to ask him questions about the academy, her curious of what her life will look like in a few months when she starts it herself and it makes her laugh, seeing him so excited to share his knowledge.

It seems so effortless, to joke around with him, even though people always see her more as a serious person. But here she is, teasing Jake and being the object of his own mocking, and he actually laughs at every single joke, that ringing sound that Amy starts to grow fond of. There are butterflies in her belly every time he smiles that amused grin at something she said, and her cheeks are cramped from all the laughs his poor jokes cause. Talking to Jake is so blissfully easy, and when he tells her _“Wow, you sure know how to make me laugh.”_ she feels the strongest urge to hug him.

* * *

“So, fan of Star Wars?” She asks at one point, pointing at his vest, once they went through all their favourite cartoons from childhood.

They’re sitting on a window ledge, side by side, away from the biggest noise but still, they need to keep their faces close to hear what the other person is saying. Amy just hopes the smell from the inside of her costume is not getting out.

“Not really, Gina made me wear this costume.” he makes a face. “I came dressed up as John McClane, but she said I’ve been dressing up like him for the last 13 years and she’s had enough. I don’t even know why she had a Han Solo costume in her wardrobe.”

“John McClane? I don’t know this character.”

“You don’t know John McClane?! From Die Hard?! The best motion picture ever made?” With his mouth agape and brows up his forehead, he looks genuinely offended by her ignorance.

“Oh, I heard of it. I’ve just never seen it.” She shrugs.

“Then you absolutely _have to_ watch it with me! I’d be honored to introduce you to this piece of art!” 

His body is now turned to her wholly, his intense gaze seems hopeful and words got stuck in Amy’s throat, surprised by his proposition. “Yeah, sure.” She gasps, a bit embarrassed by how weak her voice sounds. The warmth she’s sensing becomes too overwhelming, but she has a feeling it has nothing to do with the thickness of her costume, but rather the look of sheer bliss on Jake’s face.

“Wait, did you say Gina made you dress up like this?” He nods and Amy lets out a puff of breath, something between a sigh and a chuckle, slowly getting where the irony of it might be coming from. “Guess that makes it both of us. I lost a bet to her and as a result here I am, wearing a Chewbacca costume.”

“Then I guess I was wrong, it wasn’t destiny, more like Destiny’s Child biggest fan.”

He smiles goofily at her, and the conversation goes on, and for hours, as Amy assumes. After a while, Jake goes from calling her Amy to _Ames_, her first nickname ever, and for the first time in her life the twist of her stomach isn’t caused by anxiety nor is it unpleasant. She completely loses track of time, listening to Jake telling her the story behind his friendship with Gina, with many parts of it being just about their shenanigans, but he also briefly mentions how she was there for him when his dad abandoned his family. She almost sucks in her breath audibly, a bit startled by his unload. It’s just one sentence he says in this matter, right away going on with the story of how he and Gina used to go down his Nana’s stairs on a mattress, but his gaze turns nostalgic and suddenly Amy thinks she has now a better image of who Jake Peralta really is.

And she appreciates his candour. Wants to reciprocate it even. But the willingness isn’t enough to cause her walls to collapse. Yet.

* * *

“Yeah, I wasn’t a regular at the library back in school, true” he admits, timidly almost, once the conversation leads to the subject of books Jake has never read. “But whenever I came by, you were there.” He adds under his breath, a gentle smile tucking at the corners of his mouth.

Her stupid cheeks seem warm again and she glues her eyes to his shoe laces, tangled but not tied, an annoying question ringing in her head. That one question that has been haunting her from the moment she took off her mask, but the chances for her actually voicing it are very little.

_How come you remember me?_

Instead, she hides her awkwardness in teasing “You should’ve come up, maybe I would’ve been able to engraft some love for Jane Austen’s books in you.” and she expects him to at least snort at it but Jake just stares at her, a ghost of a smile gracing his features.

“You’re right, I should’ve.”

* * *

Amy completely forgets about the costume contest, utterly lost in her conversation with Jake, and only a loud growl that sounds like Gina, emerging from somewhere above her ear shakes her out of the reverie. 

“Why? Why do I have to agree with common’s vote?!” Her tone bears a dramatic vibe which makes Amy turn in her direction instantly.

“It was you who wanted a voting contest, Gina.” There’s Rosa with her, voice patient as always, whenever she needs to knock some common sense into her girlfriend.

“Yeah, but I thought I’d win.” Gina whines. “And not these two losers. They didn’t even plan on it. They didn’t even know each other before I made them wear matching costumes.” 

“Why would you do that even?” Jake chimes in, not really indignant by her action, bemused if anything.

“Because I find it funny, geez.” She tells it as if it was one of the axioms that run the universe and seems genuinely offended by their ignorance. “It’s like you don’t even know me, Jacob.” She drops a tacky golden statue of her own silhouette on Amy’s lap, and without gracing them with one glance turns away on her hill and walks away, trying to look as unaffected by the defeat as physically possible. 

Amy looks at the statue, the contest’s prize presumably, and cracks a smile. “Looks like all this fur brought me some satisfaction after all.” She looks up at Jake and Rosa, pointing at the reward, already thinking it would make a good paperweight. 

“_Looks like all this fur brought me some satisfaction after all_ \- title of your sex tape!”

And as Rosa snorts and Jake beams brightly, satisfied with his bad joke, Amy only rolls her eyes, theatrically exasperated, and she hears a crack in the walls. Maybe Halloween is not too bad after all.

* * *

It’s already the first day of November when they exit the party (Jake insisting on walking her home), and it is palpable in the air, wind cutting even through the thick layer of a Wookie fur. The trees planted along the street are almost completely stripped of leaves, their bareness giving them truly a spooky look. There is mud on the sidewalk, an effect from the rain before, and Jake has already stepped into four puddles, his sneakers probably all soaked now, but he doesn’t seem to mind. Amy’s not even sure if he noticed, since he’s too wrapped-up in telling her about his new car, on a spur of a moment purchase caused by the pure bliss his accomplishment has brought upon him. Seeing his excitement warms her heart but when he mentions his _crushing debt_ this impulsive gain has generated, she visibly freezes and instantly volunteers to walk him through her own budget-managing system. 

She gets so lost in that broad smile Jake offers her, they almost miss her building.

“So, we need to make an arrangement for that _Die Hard_ marathon I promised you.” Jake clears his throat and she nods with a slight smile, not trusting her voice to speak up. “But for that I kinda need you number.” He seems almost tentative, his gaze dropped and fingers playing with the band of his jacket and Amy almost drops her phone, her hands shaking madly and not only from the cold.

After few minutes she has her phone back, and she looks at the too bright screen in the darkness of her front steps, her eyes glued to the digits under the name _Jake “John McClane” “Han Solo” Peralta_ and she smiles, having no power to stop it. 

“You know,” Jake is already on the pavement, but he turns back as if he forgot something. “Han and Chewie are an inseparable duo, so... I’m afraid you’re stuck with me now.”

_The walls will fall_, she thinks, full of hope.

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you liked it Z! <3 You have no idea how happy I was getting you as my prompter - you wrote me such a beautiful summer fic, so the pressure was there (but it was the good kind of one :3)
> 
> Kudos and comments brighten my day - don't be afraid to leave a sign!


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